By Elizabeth Miller ’15, Co-Editor-in-Chief

In the Lower School, Mrs. Donna Legette is a legend. As she has worked at Country Day for twelve years, everyone knows Mrs. Legette’s name and wants to be in her class. But next year, there will be a hole in the community as this legend is leaving at the end of this school year.

Mrs. Legette came to Country Day in 2001 to teach fourth grade. For the next four years, she alternated between third and fourth grade in a looping program in which she had the same class two years in a row. During that time she was the team leader for those grades. Then in the 2005-06 school-year, she moved to first grade, which she has taught ever since.

As a first grade teacher, Mrs. Legette instructed her students in all subject areas: math, language arts, history, and science. She has always especially loved teaching her students reading and writing. Over the span of her time here at Country Day, the way that she teaches these subjects has evolved a lot as she “tries to keep current, making sure that I bring the excitement into the environment.” As the level to which students are involved with technology has increased, Mrs. Legette has adapted her teaching style to incorporate that. She explained, “The kids, they are just not afraid of computers. Even the youngest of kids will just totally thrive and immerse themselves in [using them].”

Although Mrs. Legette will most certainly miss teaching her favorite subjects, what she will miss most about Country Day is the wonderful sense of community. She told me, “Here, there’s an overwhelming support system from the parents [and] the [other] teachers. I really love…when we meet in collaboration and

share things that we’ve done in the classroom that’s worked really well. I can take from that [and] modify it for it the lower grades.” She feels that there is so much love in the community, whether it be from the parents, the teachers, or her students, and she will miss that a lot. With a big smile, she told me about how much she loves her students (and how much they love her), saying, “First graders show so much love to their teachers—the hugs!”

Mrs. Legette’s husband travels frequently for his job, so she is leaving Country Day to be able to join him on his trips and spend more time with him. We wish her all the best as she continues onto this new and exciting stage in her life!